Head of Design

About the role

Vanta seeks a visionary leader to guide its design team. This role involves setting the strategic direction for a substantial design organization and shaping the future of AI-integrated product experiences. You will also establish systems to ensure the consistent delivery of high-quality design at scale.

Key facts

What you'll do

• Oversee a team of approximately 40 designers and design directors across various product areas, including GRC, Trust, Platform, Self-serve, and AI. Establish organizational goals and empower leaders to excel.
• Spearhead the development of next-generation, AI-native product experiences, defining the aesthetic and functional standards for AI-influenced Vanta products.
• Cultivate an AI-forward design practice by evolving user experience patterns for agentic systems, redesigning team workflows with AI tools, and defining collaborative models between designers and design engineers.
• Contribute a strong perspective to design decisions, engaging deeply with interaction and visual design, and product strategy to build confidence in scalable design decision-making.
• Define and uphold a unified standard for design excellence across Vanta, encompassing visual design, interaction design, and AI-driven features. Implement systems like design systems, definitions of done, and review frameworks to maintain this standard.
• Proactively shape design direction, establishing the taste and operational frameworks that guide product development and the broader organization.
• Foster strong collaborations with Product and Engineering teams, creating shared quality benchmarks integrated into the product development lifecycle.
• Recruit and develop talent, nurturing existing leadership, maintaining high standards for AI proficiency and design craft in all hires, and addressing evolving capability needs.

Requirements

• A minimum of 15 years in design, with at least 5 years leading and scaling significant design departments, including managing director-level reports.
• Profound expertise in interaction and visual design, with a capacity for detailed direction and maintaining high quality in design outcomes.
• Extensive experience in B2B SaaS, understanding the complexities of serving SMB and enterprise clients, intricate workflows, multi-user products, and platform design challenges.
• Organizational AI fluency, demonstrated by experience integrating AI tools, workflows, and cultural adoption within a design team to enhance output and speed. Possess a clear perspective on how AI reshapes design roles and team structures.
• A proven history of building quality assurance systems, including ownership of design systems, definitions of done, launch review processes, and quality frameworks developed collaboratively with Product and Engineering.
• Experience leading design through critical company transitions, navigating uncertainty, adapting organizational structures, and sustaining quality and progress during periods of rapid business change.
• Exceptional cross-functional leadership skills, earning trust from product and engineering peers, effectively navigating fast-paced executive environments, and driving consensus on shared objectives.
• Must be authorized to work in the U.S. without requiring future employer sponsorship.

Nice to have

• Demonstrated experience in using AI to enhance personal skills and work output, showing curiosity, a commitment to learning, and sound judgment in applying AI responsibly for efficiency and impact.

Skills & tools

• Interaction Design
• Visual Design
• Design Systems
• AI Tooling and Workflows
• B2B SaaS Product Development

Practical notes

• Benefits include comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with most employee-only premiums covered, 16 weeks paid parental leave, health and wellness stipends, remote work support, family planning benefits, 401(k) matching with immediate vesting, flexible PTO, sick time, and paid holidays.
• Commuter benefits are available for employees reporting to SF and NYC offices.
• To apply, if you are referred, please contact your referrer to initiate the application process.